Nyck deVries’exit from AlphaTauri not only came as a shock, but with Daniel Ricciardo as his replacement, it sparked the speculations of Sergio Perez’s exit. Red Bull has openly denied this narrative. However, Toto Wolff, deVries‘ mentor, believes his rival team has some twisted plot.
Marko and Horner have made it abundantly clear that Checo’s seat is not at risk, even if Ricciardo is actively targeting the same. Regardless, it would be tough to take Red Bull’s statements seriously. If deVries and the team’s extensive past are anything to go by, only perfection is awarded at Red Bull; and so far, Perez has been far from it this season.
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Toto Wolff refuses to believe these promises as well. Vouching for his former Mercedes reserve driver, Wolff calls out Red Bull’s recent decisions and also gives his two cents to the conspiracy surrounding Perez’s seat.
Toto Wolff furious with Red Bull
The Milton Keynes outfit has already faced a lot of backlash for not giving deVries a fair chance in his rookie season. While the team has its own arguments about the situation, there has not been a resolution to the debate.
Toto Wolff stands with the fans and most of the F1 community in arguing that the Dutchman just needed more time. Not 10 races. In an interview with SkySports, he stated, “Maybe he needed more time. If he had been given the season, who knows?”
The Mercedes team principal goes so far as to say that deVries had the potential to be Max Verstappen’s teammate. “Maybe he would have been a really good candidate for the Red Bull seat too.” However, Wolff believes that this was all a ploy to get Ricciardo back to the seat he left in 2018.
“They wanted, I think, to do some benchmarking with [Daniel] Ricciardo to see if Daniel might be able to take Checo’s [Sergio Perez] seat.” He added, “Once you’ve made that decision, then of course you’ll fall through the cracks.”
What does Horner have to say about Daniel Ricciardo?
Horner and his team have repeatedly stated that their driver lineup has been locked in for the next season. However, 2025 might be the time to strike for Daniel Ricciardo.
for those who missed it… 📺
ALL ACCESS | Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 return at Scuderia AlphaTauri 👉 https://t.co/T7boheaO4q pic.twitter.com/dRArUzNeOU— Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team (@visacashapprb) August 8, 2023
And Horner is well aware of that. Happy to have “talent in reserve,” the team principal stated, “I think Daniel is viewing AlphaTauri… he firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat. That’s his golden objective. And by going to AlphaTauri, I think he sees that as his best route of stating his case for 2025.”
The real storyline is yet to unfurl. Till then, the narrative is in Perez’s hands. While Red Bull would be a poetic ending for Ricciardo, no one knows what plot twist Red Bull can pull.
